“Here,” he said, shoving a thin notebook into my hands.
It wasmuchsmaller than I’d anticipated. I knew Sucellus’s power and influence was on the downswing, but this was ridiculous.
“Anything else?” Sloan said, his voice tinged with annoyance and anger.
“I don’t think so,” I said.
“Then leave.” He crossed his arms and nodded to the door.
“No need to be rude,” Veronica said as I led her toward the exit.
Ignoring us, Sloan went to a golden altar and began lighting candles. The last thing we heard was his murmured prayers.
At the door, I paused, placing my hand on the handle. Two shadowy figures stood near my car. A sudden and inexplicable sense of dread, confusion, and fear settled into my bones. My hand twitched, wanting to go for the gun under my arm.
“What’s wrong?” Veronica asked, looking at my hand, the knuckles white as I gripped the door handle.
“When we go outside, go right. Don’t run, just walk. Don’t look back, don’t say anything. Understand?”
She looked at my face, anxious terror in her eyes. “Uh…okay.”
“There’s an alley between this building and the next,” I said, pushing the door open. “That’s where we go.”
Nodding, she stepped out behind me. No sooner had we stepped out onto the sidewalk than the two men by the car moved to approach us, their faces hidden in the shadows.
“Evening,” one of them called, his tone deep and jovial. A friendly voice in the night, hoping to put us at ease. “Hang on a second, friend.”
“No thanks,” I called back, ushering Veronica. “I’m happy with my current cell phone carrier.”
The man chuckled. “Funny guy, huh?”
“No really.” I put my hand on Veronica’s back, leaning down to whisper to her. “Can you fight? Magic, I mean?”
She nodded, her body quaking beneath my hand. “I’ve figured out several defensive and offensive spells.”
“We might need them,” I said.
“Why don’t you two hang on a second,” the man called again. “We need to talk to you.”
Lie.They didn’t want to talk. My enchanted pistol sat under my arm, and I could almostfeelit begging to be used. On my ankle, another smaller revolver sat in a hidden holster, equally enchanted but of a lower caliber. On my hip, I carried a third weapon—not a pistol, but something that might work even better against what I thought these guys were. I couldn’t reach for any yet, not until we rounded the corner. I pushed gently at Veronica’s back, picking up the pace.
Behind us, the two men’s footsteps grew quicker and louder.
“They’re witches,” Veronica hissed. “I can smell them. Maybe sorcerers or warlocks, I’m not sure, but definitely magic users.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” I said. “Get ready.” When the corner was ten feet away, I patted her shoulder. “GO!”
We sprinted and swung into the alley, Veronica in front, me in the back. I heard a heavywhooshbehind us, and a blast of energy slammed into the brick wall, shattering the blocks and sending a spray of dust and mortar into the side of my face. I jerked away, grabbing my gun and joining Veronica in the alley.
She stood there, legs wide, hands out, brow furrowed in concentration. I dived aside, rolling out of the way. A blue dome appeared above both of us. A second later, the two men appeared, both casting spells in our direction. A red electric bolt and what looked like a solid jet of blue flame. The magical blasts slammed into the dome Veronica had created. It stopped the magic, but disintegrated under the impact.
Rolling to a knee, I raised my gun and fired at a slim, muscular bald man. My aim was true, but the man had impeccable reflexes. He conjured a glowing hole in the air between us. The bullet passed through and vanished as the hole shrank to nothing. A portal.
The other man, a dark-skinned witch with his hair braided tight against his head, threw both his hands out toward Veronica. Semi-translucent ropes flew toward her.
She threw up a hand, sending a golden arc of sparks out that cut the magical ropes in half before they could wrap around her. In a blink, she shifted into her wolf form and lunged at Braided Hair.
I wanted to make sure she was going to be okay, but Bald Guy was running toward me. I fired the gun twice more. One bulletwent wild, pinging off the concrete ground, but the second flew right at the guy’s face. He snapped his fingers, and the bullet loopedaroundhis head and shot straight back toward me, burying itself in the asphalt two inches from my calf.
